How To Tell A Female Coworker To Stop Talking

Few things are as annoying as a talkative coworker, but how to tell a female coworker to stop talking is a delicate operation. Being too brash and direct can be hurtful to your coworker, earning you no points with your boss and making you look like the bad guy to your other coworkers. However, being too indirect does not tell a female coworker to stop talking and you end up with the same chatter.

Make it about you. If you make the talk about her and her annoying shortcoming, you'll be the bad guy. You can't tell a female coworker to stop talking by saying that the problem is her and expect to remain the good guy. Instead, come up with a reason that her being quiet would be helpful. Tell her that you have trouble concentrating on simple tasks when you're listening to such interesting things from her, and that she can help you greatly by keeping her talking relegated to breaks and lunch time. This is a way to tell a female coworker to stop talking while still keeping a good working relationship with her.

Try to be somewhere else. If you're about to lose your patience, you can tell a female coworker to stop talking simply by saying that you can't be distracted and that you're going to have to move elsewhere. It isn't the nicest approach, but it's better than losing your temper and telling her to shut up or something even worse. Then, relocate to any place where she isn't.

Fake a headache. If all else fails, yell "Ow! Ow!" every time she talks and tell her what a massive headache she has. When other coworkers see you holding your head and crying out in pain every time she talks, she will be highly motivated to shut it, and you won't have to tell a female coworker to stop talking at all in order to get some peace and quiet.